Summer's Youthfulness
by XLucy0117X
Summary: Small ONESHOT about FemNaru meeting Lee at the Chunin exams. After the exams, she can't seem to understand why she feels compelled to go see him at the hospital? Rated just in case.


Please forgive all mistakes. This just a small–and if you ask me–badly written ONESHOT about Naru and Lee. I really wanted to write something about the two, because I think they could've been together had Naruto been a girl. Naru and Lee may be slightly OOC. (Sorry if it sounds like I'm bashing Sakura. I don't mean to.)

"Sakura – chan, you're late." Naru pouted, her eyes watching her last teammate slowly tread over towards her and Sasuke. Uncrossing her arms over her chest, Naru finally smiled slightly, but Sakura did not return it.

Sasuke, brooding over to the side, had his face turned to the left. He watched the wind blow the leaves across the deserted schoolyard. Turning his head only when he felt the light but intent stare of the pinkette, he saw her watching him from his peripheral vision.

"I'm sorry," Sakura apologized quietly, still not looking at a grinning Naru. A forced smile spread almost reluctantly across the pink haired girl's face. Naru's eye brows came together tightly, and her smile fell from her face slowly. Sakura didn't care about her. Who was she to care about Naru anyway? Who wants to be friends with a demon? And it's not like Naru needed a screaming pink banshee as her friend. Unhappiness clouded Naru's mind while her eyes were still set on Sakura.

"Morning, Sasuke." Sakura greeted the quiet and gloomy teen with a small blush caressing her face. As she stood there, she saw the sight of Sasuke being attacked by many spikes flash through her eyes but she threw the memory from her mind. It was just to scare her. Her precious Sasuke would never get hurt.

"Yeah," He replied, his dark black eyes trailing over her unusually still body. To anyone else the look would have appeared withering, a dark glare of hate. But to Naru, who was watching the exchange through lidded eyes, saw it for what it was. Sasuke was scrutinizing her, trying to figure out her unusual quietness. Of course all three had to go through that quick test last night. None of them knew that the others had, or even what they had seen or been through, but that didn't matter. Sakura's confidence had shattered while Naru and Sasuke's had increased.

_'Something's strange about Sakura.'_ Sasuke finally decided, unsure about what though.

"Let's go." Sasuke ordered of the two, waiting until he could hear his female teammates' footsteps. He walked forth then, headed to the third floor. As they came near the second floor, they saw a crowd of Genins crammed right before a door where two other Genins stood, half-assed grins stretching wide across their faces. One had black spikey hair, bandages covering each side of his jaw, and one over his chin. His eyes were scrunched together, his eyes barely able to see through the slits, but clearly able. Two kunai stuck out from behind his shoulders, held up by a backpack of some kind. His partner, a slightly taller man with limp brown hair that was down to his shoulders, had deep black eyes. His hitaite was sitting on a blue cap.

Just as Naru, Sasuke and Sakura stepped through the crowd, they saw a black bowl cut haired boy wearing a green jumpsuit. The red Leaf hitaite was pulled around his middle into a belt of some sort and his eye brows looked to be as large – if not larger – than his lips. Orange leg warmers covering his lower legs, the usual blue ninja sandals on his feet, and gauze wrapped about his lower arm down to his fingers, he looked strange, as Naru put it.

He stumbled back after being pushed by the two Genins and fell to his butt. A small, petite girl wearing a pink blouse, dark blue pants, with twin Chinese looking buns placed on either side of her head right above her ears rushed forward. Her black hitaite wrapped across her forehead but just below the buns to be tied in the back.

She slipped to a knee and gripped the bowl–cut boy's upper arm with nimble fingers, trying to pull him up without hurting him.

"So, you sure you want to take the Chunin exam with such small skill such as that?" One of the two Genins blocking the door asked snidely.

The other responded quickly to his partner in crime. "It'd probably be best if you runts quit now." The same smirk pulled at the corners of his mouth, the boy next to him sporting an identical leer.

"You're just green–assed brats, after all." They reasoned with each other.

"Please let us through," The girl with the buns pleaded, her soft brown eyes begging the two silently. Standing confidently, she tried to get past them but was punched during her attempt.

"Chunin's get hurt; they're squad leaders at times. Squad leaders are responsible for its teams' deaths and injuries. We've seen many people disabled and killed during these tests. We're doing you a favor. And you brats think you can take this test?" The black haired boy insisted arrogantly.

Sasuke, rolling his eyes haughtily strolled forward, his hands still in his pockets. "A sound argument." Sasuke agreed, though his voice sounded bored and his eyes threatened to bore holes in anyone who met them. "However you will let me through." His tone was not asking, it was demanding much to the two Genins' surprise. "And could you take down that Genjutsu barrier? I have stuff to attend to on the third floor."

The crowd murmured in surprise, each sounding enraged.

"What's he talking about?"

"There's no Genjutsu."

"He's just rookie. How would he know?"

Naru and Sakura stood behind Sasuke, flanking both his sides. Naru was smiling happily while Sakura frowned. The differences between the two were clear but no one paid attention to them, all eyes trained on Sasuke.

"Well…"

"…so you figured it out." The black haired Genin finished his teammate's sentence.

"What do you think, Sakura? You were the first to notice it, weren't you? Being great with genjutsu and all." Sasuke bragged, his proud voice bringing Sakura from her thoughts.

Surprised, she glanced at Sasuke who encouraged her with a slight shoulder roll.

"Sasuke–kun…thank you." Bowing her head once, her eyes drooping shut for a mere second before she strode forward. "Of course, I realized it ages ago!" A mocking grin finally found its way upon her face, her eyes daring anyone to go up against her. No one did. "This is only the _second _floor and the test is on the _third_."

"Yup!" Naru beamed happily, her eyes radiating happiness.

Not soon after the sign that said 'Room 301' shifted slowly into 'Room 201'. The crowd gasped in surprise. Sasuke and Sakura gave twin superior smirks. But before anyone else could do anything, the spikey haired kid swung his leg around to kick Sasuke.

Sasuke pushed his body into a defensive stance and thrust his leg to meet the other Genin's. Just as their attacks were about to meet, a green blur sped between the two and caught each of their legs in their acts. The boy's head was lowered, each hand sporting the boys' legs, and his eyes intently studying the girls behind Sasuke. One in particular caught his eye.

Sasuke and the Genin brought their legs down from their offensive positions and the green suited boy from earlier let their legs go as they pulled back. His teammates, the Chinese bun girl and another boy with long brown hair pulled into a low pony tail, strode forward, the latter glaring angrily. "This isn't what we promised. We were going to lie low and try not to attract attention."

The boy with the pony tail had lilac eyes, and no pupils. He wore dark brown shorts, gauze bandages wrapped around his leg and a tan t–shirt. His hitaite was black and his lips were spread into a tight line. He was not someone that Naru wanted to cross unnecessarily.

"But," The green jumpsuit boy started and both of his teammates sighed at the one word, watching him turn to Sakura with a blush spreading across his cheeks.

"Oh boy…_this_ again." The girl with the two brown buns complained while shaking her head sadly.

The green clad boy stepped forward, the blush slowly disappearing and his earlier wounds not showing at all. Stopping in front of Sakura, he gave her a large smile. "My name's Rock Lee. Yours is Sakura – san, right?" Sakura tilted her head slightly, looking confused. He quickly put his arm up and gave her a 'thumbs up'. "Please go out with me! I will protect you until I die!" Sakura paled then turned blue as Lee smiled wide enough for his teeth to sparkle. Naru swore she could hear 'ka-shing' as the sparkle from his teeth threatened to blind her.

"Absolutely not." There was no hesitance in Sakura's voice and her hands came up to make an X.

"Huh? Why?" Lee asked unhappily, his eyes widening in surprise.

"You're too intense. And your eyebrows…ugh!" Sakura turned away to drool at Sasuke and inched closer to him.

Naru couldn't help but think, '_Well, it finally happened. She snapped out of it and now she's in that stupid fan girl faze. Poor Sasuke.' _Fighting the urge to laugh at the look Sasuke sent Sakura which was along the lines of 'get the hell away from me', she finally managed to compose herself. Now frowning, she turned to Sakura.

"That wasn't nice, Sakura–chan," She scolded, crossing her arms over her chest. The girl didn't answer. Eventually turning to the upset Lee, she patted him on the shoulder. "I'm sorry, Lee–kun, Sakura–chan can be mean sometimes. She just really likes Sasuke."

Said boy was fighting the pinkette off with his deadly glower. Sakura didn't seem to have heard or decided to ignore the blonde. Lee turned to look at the two with a distraught grimace but turned back to Naru just as quickly. Confusion etched across his face and he watched the girl before him before deciding to question her. "And you'd be?"

"Naru Uzumaki." Holding her hand out for Lee to shake, she gave a rival grin to Lee's. "Future Hokage."

Lee grasped her small hand in his masculine one, shaking it slowly. Matching Naru's expression, he introduced himself. "Rock Lee, Konoha's Beautiful Green Wild Beast." Naru found herself trying to wrap her mind around the long nickname but after mulling on it for a few moments, she decided to just call him 'Lee'.

Naru, feeling awkward, nodded before waving to Lee with one hand and then scrambled over to Sasuke and Sakura.

"Dobe, we're leaving." Sasuke insisted, turning away.

"Teme! Don't call me that!" Sakura whacked Naru on the back of the head, her glare telling Naru all she needed to know. "But Sakura–chan, he started it!" She complained, idly rubbing the injured spot with one hand.

"I don't care! Don't insult Sasuke–kun!" Naru pouted and felt slighlty sick. Not that she would ever be sick thanks to that unwanted tenant in her belly, but more in the emotional sense. Nobody cares for her. Sakura gets the guys, Sakura isn't chased by the village and beaten until she can barely see, Sakura isn't insulted by Sasuke… '_I'm jealous,'_ She realized. '_I'm jealous of Sakura.'_

The Chunin exams were over and Naru was grateful for that. Sasuke had the cursed mark on his neck, Lee was hospitalized, Naru met Gaara, the Suna Jinchuriki, Neji got his butt handed to by none other than Naru, Jiraiya insisted on becoming Naru's sensei and Sakura grew even just a little after the whole ordeal. She still hadn't thanked Naru for saving and protecting her during the invasion but neither has Sasuke. The Sandaime Hokage's funeral was only days ago and Naru continued to grieve, even if ninjas were not allowed to show and feel emotions. When had she ever followed rules, anyway?

Jiraiya had visited Naru telling her he wanted to take her out of the village and train her a bit. Naru, only wanting to learn something new, eagerly accepted although it hadn't been a request. So here Naru was, heading home to pack, and passing by Ino's parents' flower shop. The smell caught Naru's interest more than anything. Stopping just in front of the door, Naru hesitantly took a step towards the shop's opening. She didn't know if she would be allowed to buy anything or even get a good price but she felt compelled to come take a look.

Stepping inside cautiously, Naru whipped her head back and forth, looking for the counter. She spied Ino looking bored, her blonde hair wrapping about her face. '_I wonder how long it took for her to do her hair,'_ Naru wondered. Shaking the thought from her head, Naru called out in a small voice to Ino who still hadn't noticed her.

"Um, can I come in?"

Ino glanced up at Naru and nodded her head once.

"Thanks," Naru said, emotion flooding her voice. She looked at all the flowers, most of them not ones she had heard of. _'What am I even doing here?'_

Almost as if she had read her thoughts, Ino strutted up to Naru and asked in a clear, curious voice, "Who are the flowers for, Naru? Perhaps I could help you."

Naru knew that if she didn't have someone whom she was looking for flowers for, she'd be kicked out quicker than she could say ramen. Thinking quickly and secretly hoping Ino hadn't seen the panic that had flashed across her whiskered face, she said the first name that came to her. "Lee."

Ino nodded again. "He's been a popular one. Here, I know just what you want to give him." Smiling at Naru's bewildered face, Ino gave a small laugh. "His female teammate blurted them out when she was buying him flowers as well." She reached out and grabbed a couple different types and before Naru knew it, she was at the counter making her transaction.

Paying Ino and feeling surprised that it was cheaper than buying a simple carton of expired milk from the market, thanked the blonde and headed off into the direction of the hospital. She stopped suddenly when a thought hit her.

'_Why did I even need to stay? Couldn't I have just left or bought the flowers for myself? Why did Lee's face pop up when she asked me who the flowers were for?'_ The silent thoughts plagued the young blonde girl's thoughts as she continued down the path to the hospital.

Stopping only to find out where Lee's room was, Naru walked up there.

Opening the door and seeing that Lee was asleep, she tip toed over towards the stand beside his bed that held other flowers but they appeared to have wilted already. The picture was sad but Naru hoped her flowers would cheer Lee up. Everyone knew that Gai was saddened enough as it was that his student was bed–ridden, but if he saw the state of the flowers, he might scream something along the lines of 'How unyouthful!' and cry his eyes out. Nobody wanted to see that.

Leaving the flowers by the bedside, Naru turned to leave but stopped when a hand grabbed her wrist. Stopping in her departure, Naru turned to the bandaged boy who stared up at her with sad, defeated eyes.

"Naru, what are you doing?" Lee asked tersely.

"Well, I thought you could use flowers and it's the least I can do, especially after you protected Sakura, Sasuke and I." Naru turned away, trying not to look into the injured older boy's eyes.

"Why do you put yourself last all the time, Naru?"

Naru's memories flashed before her eyes, images of the villagers punching and beating on her. Being sold expired food for higher prices, crying in the street after someone tripped her when she was five…She was always treated like the worst, the dead–last. That was her nickname, 'dobe'.

"Because I am." Trying to pull herself free, Naru jerked her hand towards her but the hand holding her wrist tightened.

"You're anything but."

Still not meeting the rounded black eyes, Naru shook her head as tears threatened to fall. "But I am. Kakashi–sensei trained Sasuke and not me. You asked Sakura out and not me. The villagers treat everyone right except me. I've always been last." Her attempts to free herself were futile even as her opponent was injured and lying in his bed. Eventually she gave up but refused to be pulled back towards Lee.

"You come before them in my eyes. Your youthfulness shines brighter than theirs." Shocked, Naru turned around to ask him why when she was pulled into Konoha's Beautiful Green Beast's arms. Somehow Lee had eventually pulled himself into a sitting position upon his bed. After enclosing his arms over Naru's body, she found her head pressed against his neck and her waist being held in his arms. The action brought on quiet sobs. She had never been held in a comforting way. She had never had family, she had never had someone who was willing to hold or care for the demon. Even the Sandaime Hokage who helped her and pitied her didn't hug her once in her life. Her body rocked with each gasp for breath in Lee's comforting arms.

It was then that Naru realized she could get used to this, this love and protection. The feeling of being secure and safe, Naru had never felt that before now. But being in Lee's arms, she felt her first sense of security and she liked it.

"Your youthfulness is rare sight and your scent is overpowering. You smell like blossoming tulips on a warm Summer day…" Lee tightened his grip around her. "I regret not asking you to go out with me during the Chunin exams." He admitted quietly into her ear.

"Y–you do?" Naru stuttered between breaths. Her crying had become less and her breath was soon caught her in throat.

"I like you, Naru, please go out with me. I'll protect you until I die!" Lee released his arms about her enough for to look him in the face for the first time since seeing his saddened eyes. His eyes now held confidence and hope. How could she ever have tried to hide from those large innocent eyes?

Hesitating only a second she quickly asked, "But the villagers hate me. You may be scorned along with me. I don't want to condemn you to that way of life…"

Lee shook his head before pulling her in for another hug. "Please go out with me." He repeated.

"Y–yes." Her voice was muffled by Lee's hospital gown but he heard it anyway.

"Your youthfulness shines through the darkest times once again!" Okay, so there was one drawback to dating Rock Lee. It wasn't those enormous large eyebrows, it wasn't his rambunctious yelling, it was those two words, 'youthful' and 'unyouthful'.

'_I guess I'll just have to get used to this…and I think I can do that.'_ She thought to herself, a smile in her voice.


End file.
